Portland beats Deering on Senior Night

BOX SCORE

Portland 5 Deering 1

P- 200 030 0- 5 8 1
D- 000 010 0- 1 8 2

Top 1st
Bibeau homered to right-center, Winship and Bibeau scored.

Top 5th
Bibeau tripled to right, Winship and Bisco scored. Crosby grounded out to second, Bibeau scored.

Bottom 5th
Lawrence scored on Newhall’s ground ball.

Multiple hits:
P- Bibeau, Brewer 3
D- Lawrence 3, Bigelman

Runs:
P- Bibeau, Winship 2, Bisco
D- Lawrence

RBI:
P- Bibeau 4, Crosby
D- Newhall

Doubles:
P- Bibeau, Winship
D- Bigelman

Triple:
P- Bibeau

Home run:
P- Bibeau

Stolen bases:
P- Brewer 3, Bisco

Left on base:
P- 7
D- 9

C. Winship, Bibeau (7) and Gignac; Lawrence, Bigleman (7) and Brady.

P:
C. Winship (W) 6+ IP 8 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 4 K
Winship pitched to two batters in the 7th
Bibeau (Save) 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K

D:
Lawrence (L) 6 IP 7 H 5 R 3 ER 2 BB 6 K
Bigelman 1 IP 1 H 0 R 1 BB 1 K

Time:1:47

PORTLAND—Senior night at Hadlock Field is a time for stars to shine.

Even if you’re not a senior.

And Portland junior Henry Bibeau took centerstage when the Bulldogs took on rival Deering Tuesday evening.

Bibeau hit a two-run inside-the-park home run in the first inning to put Portland ahead to stay. He later added a two-run triple and a double and while he fell a single short of the cycle, he had one final act as well, coming on in relief of senior starter Colby Winship and earning the save.

The Bulldogs led, 2-0 after one inning and 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, but the Rams didn’t go quietly, scoring one run and bidding for more, but Portland senior second baseman Anthony Bisco made a terrific play to start a double play and Deering never drew closer.

Bibeau then retired all three batters he faced in the seventh and the Bulldogs prevailed, 5-1.

Portland won its fifth game in a row, improved to 7-4-1 and dropped the Rams to 3-10 in the process.

“It feels good to beat Deering,” said Bibeau. “We had a lot of confidence going into this game. We just had to keep the energy up. When one person got down, someone else was there to pick them up. That’s the key.”

Rivalry renewed

Tuesday’s contest was the 195th countable meeting (regular season and state tournament) between the ancient rivals, dating to 1919. Portland had won 103 of them, including nine of the past 12 (see sidebar, below).

Portland started fast, rallying to beat visiting Biddeford, 4-3, in the opener, then downing host Marshwood (7-4) before settling for a weather-induced 5-5 (six-inning) tie at Westbrook. After falling at home to Falmouth, 6-0, the Bulldogs lost at home to Noble (6-3), then fell at reigning Class A state champion South Portland (4-0) and at Sanford (9-4) before bouncing back with a 4-3 home win over Scarborough in a playoff rematch, a 15-1 (five-inning) home victory over Windham, a 21-3 (five-inning) home win over Massabesic and a 4-2 victory at Bonny Eagle.

Deering, meanwhile, started with losses at Marshwood (11-7) and Noble (7-2), then fell at home to South Portland (9-0), Gorham (7-1) and Sanford (8-2) before losing at Falmouth (8-1) and at Thornton Academy (19-0, in five-innings). The Rams broke into the win column, edging host Windham, 4-3, before being no-hit by visiting Westbrook (12-0). Deering then sandwiched victories over visiting Bonny Eagle (6-2) and host Massabesic (9-8, in a 13-inning marathon) around a 6-1 loss at Biddeford.

Last year, the teams met twice in the regular season, with the Bulldogs taking a 7-3 decision and the Rams answering with a 5-3 victory. They then squared off in a Class A South play-in round game, which Portland won, 11-3.

Tuesday, on a clear but chilly evening (53 degrees at first pitch), after seniors from both teams were honored in a pregame ceremony, Deering fought hard and kept things interesting, but ultimately, the Bulldogs had too much Bibeau.

Sophomore Avery Lawrence got the start for the Rams and he got in immediate trouble, as Winship led off the game by crushing a double to left. Bisco grounded out to second, moving Winship to third, then Bibeau drove the ball to deep right-center, easily scoring Winship. The only question was would Bibeau be able to circle the bases and when Deering wasn’t able to get the ball back in time, he did so for a rare inside-the-park home run and a quick 2-0 lead.

“I was just looking for a good pitch and try to stay on top of it and not try to pop it up,” said Bibeau. “I was hoping to get around the bases. It felt good.”

“I was watching their relays and there was no way I was holding him, so he was going,” said Kevin Winship, who filled in as Portland’s coach Tuesday, as Mike Rutherford was away due to a family function.

Lawrence settled in and got senior first baseman Grant Crosby to ground out to second and senior designated hitter Andrew Legere to bounce to third to retire the side.

In the bottom half, Colby Winship walked Lawrence leading off, but senior leftfielder Eli Bigelman bounced into a short-to-second force out, senior centerfielder Qwest Newhall grounded out to third and senior catcher Dempsey Brady lined out to right for the third out.

Junior rightfielder Andrew Brewer led off the top of the second with a single, but he was erased by Brady when he tried to steal second. Lawrence then struck out senior catcher Ryan Becker swinging and got senior third baseman James Gignac to ground out to short.

In the bottom half, Winship got senior third baseman Conner Coleman to ground to short, senior second baseman Drew Hamilton bounce out to second and after walking freshman shortstop Tay Lauture, he fanned senior first baseman Eric Christopher.

Lawrence struck out senior leftfielder Aidan DiMillo leading off the top of the third and after Winship reached on an error by Hamilton at second, Bisco chased strike three and Bibeau made an out for the only time all night, flying to left.

Deering then had a serious threat in the bottom half, but wound up leaving three men on.

Portland senior starter Colby Winship throws a strike to Deering’s Will Jordan during the Bulldogs’ 5-1 win Tuesday. Hoffer photos.

After Winship got designated hitter Will Jordan to fly to left, Lawrence singled to left on the first pitch he saw, Bigelman served a single over Bisco’s head, then Newhall lined a single to left on the first pitch to load the bases. Brady came up with a chance to get his team right back in it, but he struck out, then Coleman grounded to third to keep the score, 3-0.

Portland then had a squander of its own in the top of the fourth.

After Crosby flew out to center, Legere singled to right and Brewer lined a single to right to put runners at the corners, but after Brewer stole second, Becker watched strike three and Gignac bounced out to third.

Hamilton led off the bottom half by lining a single off Winship, but Lauture popped out foul to Crosby and sophomore Jackson Forrest came on for Christopher and struck out before Jordan flew to right.

The Bulldogs got some breathing room in the top of the fifth.

DiMillo led off and tried to bunt his way on, but Lawrence got to the ball and threw him out. Winship then grounded to short, but an error by Lauture opened the floodgates. Bisco drew a walk and Bibeau went the other way again, lining a triple down the rightfield line to score both runners for a 4-0 lead.

Portland’s Henry Bibeau lines a fifth inning two-run triple.

“I just saw the ball well today,” Bibeau said.

“Bibeau’s hit the ball great all year long,” Kevin Winship said. “He’s probably our top offensive player. When we have guys on base with him up, I’m pretty confident we’ll score runs.”

Crosby then grounded to Hamilton’s right and while the second baseman got to the ball and threw the batter out, Bibeau came home with another run. Legere then struck out swinging.

The Rams got a run back in the bottom half, but probably should have had more.

Lawrence led off with an infield single off the glove of Gignac at third. Bigelman then drove the ball deep to left, but could only manage a single as Lawrence didn’t get a good jump. The runners were allowed to move up, however, on a rarely-called fake tag interference call on a Portland infielder. Newhall then grounded to short, with Lawrence coming home to score, but Bibeau threw wildly for an error, putting runners at the corners. That brought up Brady, who hit a sharp grounder to the right side with the runners going and with Bisco charging, he had to suddenly lunge back to his left to snare the ball before throwing to Bibeau for one out and Bibeau threw on to first for the double play.

“The play Bisco made to turn the double play was the game-changer,” Kevin Winship said. “They were going on contact and if he doesn’t make that play, momentum goes to them and who knows?”

Making matters worse for Deering, Bigelman didn’t score on the play.

“Not scoring on a double play ball was tough,” said Deering coach Ryan Martin. “We have to get better running the bases.”

Coleman then grounded back to the mound and the Bulldogs took a 5-1 lead to the top of the sixth.

There, Brewer went the other way and singled between short and third. Becker then lined to center. With Gignac at the plate, Brewer stole second and after Gignac watched strike three, Brewer stole third as well with DiMillo batting. DiMillo extended the inning by drawing a walk, but Winship flew out to left for the third out.

In the bottom half, Winship got Hamilton to ground back to the mound, Lauture to fly out to center and Forrest to strike out looking.

Lawrence gave way to Bigelman in the top of the seventh and Bigelman struck out Bisco on a 3-2 pitch before Bibeau doubled down the leftfield line for his third hit and eight and ninth total bases. Crosby was walked intentionally, but Legere popped out to short and Brewer popped out to short.

Winship took the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, but he gave up a single to left off the bat of Jordan, then Lawrence grounded a single up the middle.

Kevin Winship then had to pull his son from the mound.

“We’ve done that all season long,” Winship said. “It’s Colby, then Bibeau. Colby knew and he was getting a little tired. He was fine.”

That brought on Bibeau in relief and Bibeau slammed the door by catching Bigelman looking at strike three, getting Newhall to ground back to the mound, then catching Brady to watch strike three as well, giving Portland a 5-1 victory.

Portland closer Henry Bibeau catches Deering’s Dempsey Brady looking at strike three to end it.

“It’s a rivalry and when Portland plays Deering, you can’t take anything for granted,” Kevin Winship said. “They’re going to come in ready to play and make plays and we were fortunate. We got some big hits when we needed them.

“It was a great win for the program. We have 12 seniors. Getting to coach and watch my son pitch and get a win against Deering was great.”

Bibeau and Brewer each had three hits to pace the Bulldogs’ offense. Bibeau and Winship both scored twice and Bisco also touched home. Bibeau had four RBI and Crosby one.

Portland stranded seven runners.

Winship earned the win with 6-plus innings of one-run ball. He allowed eight hits and walked two, while striking out four.

Bibeau earned the save with a hitless, scoreless inning of relief, fanning two.

“I was confident,” Bibeau said, of his relief stint. “I had a good warmup in the bullpen, so I felt good.”

For Deering, Lawrence had three hits and scored a run and Bigelman added a pair of hits. Newhall had the RBI.

The Rams left nine runners on.

Lawrence took the loss, surrendering five runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.

Bigelman came on for an inning of scoreless relief, giving up one hit and a walk and fanning one.

“There were a few tough plays for us,” Martin lamented. “When you get eight hits, you have to score more than once. We didn’t have clutch at-bats and we didn’t run the bases smart. We also missed a cutoff early in the game.

“I think we’re two evenly matched teams. We’re not too far away from them. It felt like a good rivalry tonight. It’s nice for the guys to play in this kind of environment.”

Prepping for playoffs

Deering (currently ranked 14th in the Class A South Heal Points standings) is back in action Thursday at Scarborough. After going to Cheverus Saturday morning, the Rams close the regular season at home versus Kennebunk Tuesday of next week.

“The plan from March was to get better one day at a time and the guys are definitely doing that,” Martin said. “If we keep doing that, we’ll be the best baseball team we can be in June.”

Portland (now eighth in Class A South) is at Kennebunk Wednesday, visits Gorham Thursday, then closes with pivotal home games versus Thornton Academy Saturday and Cheverus Tuesday of next week.

“We have to keep the errors to a minimum and keep hitting the ball hard,” said Bibeau. “If we play good defense, we’re tough to beat. We have to keep our energy up like we have the last five games.”

“We’re starting to limit our mistakes defensively and offensively, we think we can score runs with anybody,” Kevin Winship said. “If we can keep solidifying our defense, I think we can make a good run.”